The Top 3 File Compression & Extraction Softwares

Whether you’re tight on space, or need to send an enormous quantity of files, archiving software is the way to go. These days, not using an archiving suite is almost unthinkable, and it’s one of the first things you should download when you reinstall your operation system.

But which software is the way to go? In the sea of (free) software, which tool does its job best?

We decided to check it out, and present you the best free archiving applications on the market. Read on to see the best extraction program, the application with the tightest compression and the multi-platform topper.

With over 50 supported file formats, Universal Extractor, or UniExtract, is the obvious winner when looking for extraction software. Whether you want to view the contents of a RAR file, an EXE, or even a dbx-file.

Universal Extractor uses an algorithm to determine the given filetype. Only if this does not yield any results does it resort to the filename, so you shouldn’t have any problems with wrongly named files.

You can use the File/Destination GUI as depicted in the first screenshot, or the right-click context menu to quickly extract all your files. Universal Extracter has a simple, superficial interface, and that’s good thing.

KGB Archiver – Tightest Compression

KGB Archiver is an application with an insane, perhaps even the all-time highest compression rate. To achieve this, KGB Archiver deploys its PAQ6, or more recently PAQ7 compression algorithm.

Tested with Calgary Corpus, a 6MB package famous for compression algorithm testing, KGB Archiver manages to reach a stunning compress ratio of 19.8%. Compare this to the maximum RAR compression (24.0%) and 7zip ultra compression (26.1%), and I think we’ve got ourselves a winner. More test results can be found here.

Although KGB Archiver is mostly just a compression tool (it can make KGB and ZIP files), it’s the perfect companion for Universal Extractor. Get the tightest compressions out of KGB Archiver, and decompress everything using Universal Extractor, even the previously made KGB files!

If this one were to be missing from the list, I’d probably get lynched. And for a good reason that is. Over the years 7-Zip has made quite a name for itself across, and although it doesn’t support as many files as Universal Extractor, or has a compression rate as high as KGB Archiver, it gets the job done.

This open-source application works under a simple interface, but hides a very advanced toolbox. It runs light on memory and, well, just feels clean.

7-Zip File Manager is available on Windows/Mac/Linux.

So what do you think? Perhaps you prefer IZArc, or TugZIP. Tell us which applications are on top of your list, and why.

Neolex

Pierre O.

June 2, 2009

Top 3 (?) … Misleading title …

Probably lots of good freeware here.
I use Izarc for quite a while and simply love it.
Inatalls fast and easy. Works flawlessly and fast.
I did not test the others, I simply compare the features and I simply do not find any reason to switch.
For the typical user, Izarc does it all … 47 supported filetypes, multilanguage, very user friendly, portable version available, explorer integration, and on and on …
check izarc.org/features.html thoroughly …

Maybe not the best compression ratio, but I do not care since nowadays large drives give me plenty of space.

To sum it up, title is misleading, for me Izarc is certainly among the best since for me ease of use and reliability are the most important criteria.

Pierre O.

Simon Slangen

June 3, 2009

You’re right, the title doesn’t fit. It’s more like a list of the different discipline winners.

Isengard

alexblog

techgeek1

July 17, 2009

Just saw this thread and thought I’d also suggest FILEminimizer Office – it compresses MS Office files up to 98%. The cool thing about this is that it compresses the actual file, so there’s nothing to extract.